The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 18, 2002, Page 8, Image 8
( g THE GAMECOCK ^Monday, February 18, 2002 (' UVIE SCIIEDCUE
V 'V V ■ ^ ^ MEN’S GOLF at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate, Ponte
I ■ M \ I ■ill ^ 1 Vedra Beach, Fla., Monday-Tuesday
CONTACT US I_^1 I I—< I ’ MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING at the SEC Championships,
I I B B "V I i Fayetteville, Ark., Wednesday
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I \ #|l IL1 MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. LSU, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
E-mailusatgamecocksports@hotmail.com B V_X B B —/ WOMEN’S BASKETBALL at Auburn, 8 p.m. Thursday
- ‘ . ..— ..
GAMECOCK BASEBALL GOES 3-0 OVER WEEKEND
PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN
Garris Gonce easily strides over home plate after hitting his third home run of the season on Sunday.
USC improves to 6-0
with sweep of ETSU
BY MATT ROTHENBERG
THE UAMECOCK
Friday: USC 14, ETSU 2
The fifth-ranked USC baseball
team took on the East Tennessee
State Buccaneers in the first of
three games Friday at Sarge Frye
Field, and the Gamecocks beat
ETSU 14-2. •
Carolina jumped on the Bucs’
pitchers while starter David
Marchbanks (2-0) kept the Bucs’
hats under control through 6 2/3
innings.
Carolina got off to a quick start
with Garris Gonce and Landon
Powell drilling consecutive
homers, putting USC up 5-0.
ETSU’s two runs came in the third,
Marchbanks’ shakiest inning.
“I was just trying to throw
strikes,” Marchbanks said. “As
long as you put a ‘W’ up on the
board, that’s all that matters.”
The Gamecocks never let up,
adding nine more runs. Matt
Riddle capped the scoring with a
pinch-hit solo homer.
Moving into second place on
USC’s all-time win list, head coach
Ray Tanner said: “Honestly, it nev
er entered my mind at all. I don’t
belong in the same paragraph as
[Bobby Richardson]. I’m just hon
ored to be part of the tradition.”
Saturday: IJSC 7, ETSU 4
Saturday afternoon, the
Gamecocks and Bucs played game
two of the weekend set.
USC sent senior Chris Spigner
(1-0) to the mound to face ETSU’s
ace, Reid Casey.
After a four-run first, Spigner
relaxed, allowing only three hits
over the next six innings.
The Gamecocks scored three
runs for an early rally, two com
ing off a Yaron Peters double. The
Gamecocks also connected in the
fifth inning, as Jon Coutlangus hit
a three-run home run.
“I was just trying to hit the ball
in the air. He gave me a fastball
and my eyes lit up,” Coutlangus
said.
Up 7-4 late, Tanner turned the
game over to his bullpen. Tony
Adler and Blake Taylor each
forced a double play, and Taylor
earned his first save of the season.
“I knew it was going to be diffi
cult,” Tanner said. “But we had
nine shots left. If you get down,
you know you have time to come
back. Spigner settled in and gave
us a good effort.”
Sunday: USC 14, ETSU 5
The Gamecocks (6-0) completed
their sweep of East Tennessee
State (0-3) with Sunday’s 14-5 vic
tory.
The Bucs got on the board ear
ly, but USC quickly tied it up. It
was easy sailing from there on, as
the Gamecocks scored five times
in the fifth inning.
Gary Bell (2-0) had a strong
start, scattering nine hits and al
lowing three runs over 5 1/3 in
nings. He had seven strikeouts.
Carolina’s hitters took batting
practice off the Bucs’ pitchers,
compiling 16 hits. Peters had an
other great outing, going 4-for-4.
On his offensive breakout, Peters
said: “I’m trying to stay focused,
trying to stay with the same ap
proach. I’ve been working hard
and it’s paying off.”
Tanner was pleased with the
win.
“We played a solid defensive
game and were able to mix in a lot
of our younger guys,” he said.
“We’ve done the things you must
do to win. We’re playing as good
as we can, but we’ve got a difficult
schedule ahead of us.”
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Game Notes
Here are highlights from this
weekend’s games:
FRIDAY:
♦ Coach Ray Tanner earns
221st victory, moves into
second on USC’s all-time
wins list
♦ Yaron Peters hits 2-for-3
with a double and three RBIs
♦ David Marchbanks scatters
six hits in 6 2/3 innings,
picking up the win
SATURDAY:
♦ Chris Spigner pitches six
scoreless innings after four
run first inning
♦ Jon Coutlangus hits three
run shot to give Carolina the
lead for good
♦ Steve Thomas goes 3-for-3
with a pair of singles and a
double
SUNDAY:
♦ Peters goes 4-for-4 with two
doubles, two RBIs and a walk
♦ Garris Gonce, Landon
Powell, Justin Harris and Brian
Buscher hit home runs for
use
Lady Gamecocks
lose 72-62 to LSU
BY J. KEITH ALLEN
THE GAMECOCK
The USC women’s basketball
team took a step back from its at
tempt to claim the SEC lead as
they fell to LSU on Sunday 72-62.
Carolina head coach Susan
Walvius summed up her team’s
woes very simply: “This was a
frustrating game.”
The Lady Gamecocks (21-3,9-2
SEC) were playing without Kelly
Morrone. The second-year guard
had surgery Saturday to repair
a broken finger suffered in last
Thursday’s victory over
Alabama. Walvius hopes to have
the Syracuse, N.Y., native back
for the SEC Tournament.
The Lady Gamecocks’ trade
mark physical play was their un
doing Sunday afternoon, as LSU
(14-9, 7-5) converted fouls into
free throws. The Lady Tigers
outscored USC 29-3 from the
charity stripe. The game marked
the Lady Tigers’ first win over a
top 10 opponent all year, and
now they can do no worse than
a .500 finish in the SEC.
Gamecock standout Jocelyn
Penn picked up three quick fouls
in the first half, which limited her
effectiveness in the later stages of
the game. Penn would eventually
foul out, scoring only eight points.
Walvius considered LSU’s
foul shooting as one of the keys
to the win.
“It’s hard to win a game when
a team gets to the free-throw line
that many times,” Walvius said.
USC jumped out to an early 6
2 lead on a Petra Ujhelyi lay-up,
only to succumb to an eight
point run by the Lady Tigers.
The lead changed hands nine
times in the opening half. LSU
forward Ke-Ke Tardy connected
on a jump shot with 2:55 remain
ing in the first half to put her
team ahead 29-27.
Carolina came out of the locker
room trailing by one, 33-32, and
LSU quickly went on an eight
point run. The run was high
lighted by a Doneeka Hodges 3
pointer with 14:46 left in the game.
The two teams knotted the score
five times in the second half, with
the Lady Tigers pulling ahead for
good on an Aiysha Smith free
throw with 2:17 remaining.
Shaunzinski Gortman, USC’s
forward, was the high scorer for
USC, finishing with 18 points and
eight rebounds. She was the only
Lady Gamecock in double figures.
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PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN
Chuck Eidson nails a three
pointer against Alabama this
past Wednesday.
use falls to
other Lady
Gamecocks
Softball team
goes 3-1 at own
tournament
BY TRAVIS BOLAND
THE GAMECOCK
The USC softball team played
host to its first in-season tour
nament this weekend since 1994,
the Gamecock Invitational, and
the Lady Gamecocks took home
the trophy. Unfortunately, it was
the wrong set of Gamecocks; the
Jacksonville State team of the
same name beat USC 2-0 on
Sunday afternoon to capture the
crown.
USC 5, UAB 0
USC started the tournament
Saturday afternoon against the
UAB Lady Blazers. USC jumped
on top early with a run in the
first inning when junior Jodi
Fittro came around to score on
a wild pitch. A Kim Evans sac
rifice bunt had moved her into
scoring position.
USC added three runs in the
third when junior Debralee
Troesh doubled to lead the in
ning. Her double was followed
by an Aleca Johnson RBI single.
Fittro singled and scored on
freshman Meghan Cornett’s RBI
triple. Cornett crossed the plate
on a wild pitch. Samantha
Jennings rounded out the scor
ing for the garnet and black with
a fifth-inning home run. Megan
Matthews pitched all seven in
nings, struck out 13 Lady
Blazers and posted a shutout.
USC 4, Tenn. Tech 1
In Saturday’s nightcap, USC
faced off against the Tennessee
Tech Lady Golden Eagles.
Tennessee Tech started off with
a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but
USC came roaring back with a
run in the second when sopho
more Amber Curtis scored on a
Troesh double. The game stayed
tied until the seventh inning,
when Carolina put up three runs
to finish off the Lady Golden
Eagles.
Evans led off the inning with
a single and scored on an RBI
triple by Cornett. Cornett later
scored on a Curtis single. USC
was led on the mound by sopho
more Stacey Johnson, who
pitched seven innings. She al
lowed just one run and struck
out six.
PHOTO BY CHRIS TILLEY
The softball team takes the
field at the start of the third
inning on Saturday.
JSU 2, USC 0
Sunday afternoon was the
battle of the Gamecocks, be
tween USC and Jacksonville
State. This game was scoreless
until the sixth inning, when JSU
put up two big runs on two RBI
doubles. USC couldn’t get the
bats to come alive against JSU
pitcher Veronica Davis, who
shut out the Carolina squad.
Matthews took the loss, striking
out 10 batters in the defeat.
USC8, ETSUO
In Sunday night’s game, USC
faced the East Tennessee State
Lady Buccaneers. Carolina’s bats
woke up as they scored five runs
in the first inning. The rally start
ed with three consecutive singles
by Fittro, Evans and Cornett.
Curtis had a sacrifice fly.
Freshman Tia Rogers added an
RBI single, then a two-run homer
by sophomore Danielle Quinones
finished the inning. Fittro and
Evans scored in the fifth, and
Aleca Johnson scored the eighth
run for USC in the sixth inning to
finish the game. Stacey Johnson
led USC on the mound. She shut
out the Lady Buccaneers and
struck out 10.
The Gamecocks get back to
action Wednesday with a dou
bleheader against Charlotte at
Beckham Field. The first game
starts at 3 p.m.
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Men’s basketball team
picks apart Vanderbilt
BY BRAD SENKIW
THE GAMECOCK
When trying to bounce back af
ter a tough loss, hard work and a
blowout win on the road can ease
the pain.
The USC men’s basketball team
was devastated by Alabama on
Wednesday, but it bounced back
Saturday night, stomping the
Vanderbilt Commodores 66-43.
Carolina (15-10, 5-7 SEC) also
avenged an earlier blowout loss to
the Commodores (14-11,4-8). USC
used a stifling defense to hold
Vandy to its season-low 25.5 per
cent shooting and its worst defeat
in six years.
The Gamecocks, on the other
hand, shot 41.5 percent from the field
and 45.8 percent from behind the arc.
“It was nice to come put and
play well after the embarrassment
- call it what it is - in Columbia,”
Gamecocks forward Chuck Eidson
said of the Vanderbilt loss earlier
this season. “After them coming
in and doing what they wanted to
do with us in Columbia, we had a
very nice game plan put together
and really forced them to do some
things they didn’t want to do.”
Jamel Bradley got his shooting
back on track with a game-high 14
points and four 3-pointers. Carlos
Powell connected on two of three
3-pointers and finished with 11
points and six rebounds. Eidson
also had a strong game, contribut
ing 10 points and six rebounds.
Vandy was led by Chuck Moore
with 13 points.
The Gamecocks had to find
themselves quickly after Alabama
loss, so head coach Dave Odom
employed a tough practice
Thursday to prepare his team.
“I’m a big believer that, to get
your team’s attention, you’ve got
to do something dramatic,” Odom
said. “I think bringing them back
to practice on Thursday after a dif
ficult, difficult loss and pushing
them harder than they thought
they could go and having them
come through in good fashion
made believers out of them today.”
The Gamecocks used a 20-2 first
half run to stun Vandy early. The
Gamecocks applied a stout half-court
trap and tight defense in the paint to
force turnovers. The turnovers al
lowed USC to outscore Vandy 16-0
on fast breaks in the game.
After grabbing a 24-10 lead with
6:09 remaining in the first half, the
USC defense forced two shot-clock
violations. Then, with 1:07 left in
the half, Bradley drained a 3-point
er and the Gamecocks went into
halftime with a 38-20 lead.
The Commodores never re
sponded in the second half, as both
teams went scoreless for the first
three minutes. The closest Vandy
got was 13 with 13:17 left to play,
USC never let up though and
cruised to the 23-point win.
Vanderbilt came in to the game
leading the league in 3-point per
centage (38.4 percent), but it was
held to 20.7 percent Saturday night
by the Gamecocks. League-leading
3-point shooter Kevin Plavich shot
a disappointing O-for-6 from behind
the arc. Also, the Commodores’
leading scorer, Matt Freije, only
managed eight points. The team '
was out-rebounded 41-28.
Vandy head coach Kevin
Stallings spent most of the game
trying to get his team competitive,
but he was never successful.
“I’m probably about as disap
pointed as I’ve ever been about the
way my team played,” Stallings
said. “It should not be possible for
me and my coaching staff to put a
team out there that performed the
way we did. South Carolina was
just better in every way than us.”
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